7 Steps to Success

Last week I met with my Mastermind group and we took a full day to plan and set goals for the next 90 days. I now have 4 clear precise goals that I can measure over the next 3 months, and support to help me along the way. Even the coach needs coaching, no man or woman is an island. I am now set up for weekly accountability and feedback to help me stay focused and course correct when I need to.

I know many of you have set goals – either in your mind or on paper of what you want to accomplish for 2014. I want to share with you some success factors to help you set goals and become your best. When you uncover your own personality and don’t copy-cat someone else, you will be in sync and able to leverage your own qualities, in essence you have the right recipe.

So here are 7 steps to help you:

1. You have to have a sense of direction, a goal or an intricate picture (vision) of what you want. Clarity is very important but the key is to be flexible on how and what direction to take. Don’t be too rigid on how you are going to get there, be open to new ways and opportunities that will arise.

2. Understand what your strengths are, your weaknesses, talents, abilities and imperfections. You can delegate what you don’t like or are not good at. Most cannot achieve goals in isolation and you can’t do everything yourself.

3. Have the courage to assess, look at your self-image and honestly evaluate what you have accumulated. Have the courage to change, leave your comfort zone, beliefs, past experiences and activities. Have the courage to stumble and fall. YOU ARE NOT YOUR MISTAKES. The road to your goals is not a straight line, you will zigzag, guaranteed. If you are reluctant to make mistakes, you may never move off the start. Have the courage to ask for assistance, admit what you don’t know and get help and don’t let indecision or doubt affect your performance. There is also danger in over-thinking.

4. Strong self-esteem is a key factor. This is the hardest for most because they have dug a pit with their own hands, they have dis-esteem. They ‘dis’ themselves with; “I can’t do it”, “I don’t deserve it”, “It’s too hard”, “It’s too late for me”. Ask yourself if your words and thoughts enhance or damage your own opinion of yourself?

5. You need to have self-confidence and believe in the results you want to create in actual situations. Develop the expectation of adapting to whatever circumstances you confront and engineer positive results.

6. Practice self-acceptance. What I mean is free yourself from inhuman expectations of being perfect. For example, comparing yourself to others and coming up short or even hitting rock bottom. People berate themselves for their mistakes for days, weeks and sometimes a lifetime – punishing themselves regularly that really serves no purpose.

7. Accept yourself as you are and start from there. You are not perfect, and you are not alone – you have lots of company! You have to have a daily goal in your life to make that day mean something. Forget the failures of yesterday and concentrate on today.

Positive change is not effortless. But when you stick to the image of your successful self and imagine your successful self in your mind – everyday – you can heal the damage from any emotional scars that are barriers to your success. Keep a sense of humour and don’t take yourself too seriously. Have fun because your behaviour automatically changes to match up with your beliefs.

To your success!